Conflict Diamonds are originally in Western and Central Africa mainly known from the brutal conflict in the country of Sierra Leone known as Blood Diamonds. These are diamonds that are illegally traded to fund conflict in war torn areas.
JT Greene
In 1888, a corporation called De Beers was founded and was incorporated in South Africa where huge diamond mines were founded in 1970.
De Beers created the perception about diamonds as very rare, important and precious gems. However this was all a conspiracy, De Beers with the help of the media; exaggerated the value of diamonds to create love for these gems in the hearts of the public.
The increase in diamond sales had an adverse effect on the lives of the people in the third world countries like Africa.
Cecil Rhodes, the founder of De Beers corporation, contributed greatly to support the civil wars and genocides in Africa.
While in college cecil joined the Masonic Order which gave him the idea to try and make a new semi religous association
He was compared to Hitler because of his actions in trying to create a secret society of british anglo saxons
John Tokhi Ecological Devastation in Angola
Diamond Mining in these areas has caused Ecological Devastation making the land very dangerous for people to be upon.
Diamond mining has caused soil erosions and deforestation, clearing out all forests and trees. Angola’s Diamond industry would be careless in keeping the rivers and streams clean that people from the same area would use for their own privacy or needs. This has affected the wildlife under water tremendously.
The land before was used for farming by the people, but after Diamond mining taking areas of land it had a devastating affect for the people to farm any crops.
The mining pits created a hazardous public health from pits filled with stagnant rainwater that becomes infested with mosquitoes spreading malaria and more water-borne diseases.
Conflict Diamonds in Sierra Leone The war for Diamonds has caused many problems for the civilians in the surronding areas from the rebels doing such inhumane actions.
Diamonds were important sources for Sierra Leone used for tax revenues and foreign exchanges.
In 1935 De beers takes complete control of diamonds in Sierra Leone. Starts to create smuggled diamonds between groups.
Civil war fights over Diamond Control has caused horrific social and economic costs.
People under warfare committed many crimes against humanity such as murder, rape, and mutilation.
War since 1991 to 1999 has left 500,000 refugees and a loss of 75,000 lives. The fight has left the country displaced in many ways.
Rebels would terrorize civilians, such as raping women and leaving them damaged, infected in many ways, or even impregnating a women with a so called “rebel baby”.
Shaniece Grant However with the distribution of Blood Diamonds, it brought much strength to Sierra Leone's Diamond Industry.
Blood diamonds founded the civil war of Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone Truth Reconciliation Commission urged victims to find common grounds.
RUF kidnapped civilians to mine for diamonds because they didn’t have any other skills to do anything else.
Some miners received some profit of their findings and others had to live skimpy.
More than 70 countries signed up for the Kimberly Process to stop the trade of “Blood Diamonds”
In 2002, $26 million worth of diamonds were exploited form Sierra Leone.
The government slandered diamonds; nothing profited was getting to back to school/ programs funding.
RUF turned diamond mines into slave labor camps.
In a landmark report released four years ago, Global Witness found that rebel groups in conflict-ridden countries such as Sierra Leone, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were mining diamonds in order to buy arms and pay soldiers to sustain their insurgencies.
Out of 30 companies, 25--including international luxury companies like Bulgari, Cartier, and Harry Winston--failed to respond to Global Witness in writing about their policies on conflict diamonds and how they ensure that none are sold by their stores. U.S. jewelry chains, including Littman Jewelers, Whitehall Jewelers and U.S. department stores like Bloomingdales, Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue, also failed to respond.
Johnny
In my opinion the Kimberly Process sounds good but there is many loop holes.
Began in early part of the 2000's
Kimberly Process Certification Scheme ( KPCS )
75 countries passed a legislation that all diamonds must have a ( KP ) Certificate with export, so the goverment could trace them back to the mine or were they were exported out of.
The diamonds wars mostly stopped ( except Cote D'lvoire ) Angola, Sierra Leone, and DRC skyrocketed along with tax revenues. They created something to stop smuggling but they actually started to condone it.
The Kimberly Process would have been reinvented if it failed. Its foundation its legal status in 75 juristictons is strong. But it needs an independent 3rd party monitoring system.
Ian Smillie says " It needs to be replaced by the ridiculous decision-makeing arrangement with something adequit to the challenges faced from a vulnerabule industry"
Non- Govermental Organization (NGO's)
F:\Rough Business Diamonds and Conflict - Guest Commentary - Institute for Human Rights and Business.mht
Ian Smillie has lived and worked in Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Bangladesh. He was a founder of the Canadian NGO, Inter Pares, was Executive Director of CUSO and is a long-time foreign aid watcher and critic. He has worked at Tufts and Tulane Universities and as a development consultant with many Canadian, American and European organizations. He is the author of several books, including The Charity of Nations: Humanitarian Action in a Calculating World (with Larry Minear, 2004) and Freedom from Want; The Remarkable Success Story of BRAC (2009). A book on ‘blood diamonds’ will be published in 2010. Ian Smillie served on a UN Security Council Expert Panel examining the relationship between diamonds and weapons in West Africa, and he helped develop the 48-government ‘Kimberley Process,’ a global certification system to halt the traffic in conflict diamonds. He was the first witness at Charles Taylor’s war crimes trial in The Hague and he chairs the Diamond Development Initiative. Ian Smillie was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2003.
John
What are Conflict Diamonds?
Conflict Diamonds are originally in Western and Central Africa mainly known from the brutal conflict in the country of Sierra Leone known as Blood Diamonds. These are diamonds that are illegally traded to fund conflict in war torn areas.
JT Greene
John Tokhi
Ecological Devastation in Angola
- The land before was used for farming by the people, but after Diamond mining taking areas of land it had a devastating affect for the people to farm any crops.
- The mining pits created a hazardous public health from pits filled with stagnant rainwater that becomes infested with mosquitoes spreading malaria and more water-borne diseases.
Conflict Diamonds in Sierra LeoneThe war for Diamonds has caused many problems for the civilians in the surronding areas from the rebels doing such inhumane actions.
Shaniece Grant
However with the distribution of Blood Diamonds, it brought much strength to Sierra Leone's Diamond Industry.
Johnny
In my opinion the Kimberly Process sounds good but there is many loop holes.
F:\Rough Business Diamonds and Conflict - Guest Commentary - Institute for Human Rights and Business.mht